Jill Griggs has advised the KCDC Chief Executive of her resignation from the Waikanae Community Board from 18 September 2020.
Last year Jill decided to step down from her senior Central Government role to spend more of her time with her family and to contribute to local activities. In anticipation of this she ran for the Waikanae Community Board and was successful in last year’s elections. Since then she has made a significant contribution to the Community Board activities, perhaps most notably the re-establishment of the Waikanae Community Market.
Jill explains: “While I completely support the principle of democracy, it is, by its very nature, an inefficient process and my question is whether this is the best place for me. I have spent my professional life getting things done, such as establishing US-based Gartner Group in New Zealand and setting up the Electoral Commission. On reflection, I think there are better ways for me to use these skills in the community than by being a local politician.
“I had also hoped to use my skills as a mediator to harmonise views to help achieve local outcomes. But I have found that politics is often based on celebrating points of difference and that reaching consensus can be perceived to weaken a political platform.
“My feelings of being a square peg in a round hole have been increasingly uncomfortable and when Geoffrey Churchman’s recent resignation required a by-election to be held, I decided to take advantage of this to avoid incurring any additional ratepayer expense. There is no other connection between my resignation and Geoffrey’s.
“I have learned a lot during my term as an elected member and would like to thank KCDC staff and other elected members, particularly my Community Board colleagues, who have provided me with such great professional and personal support during this time. I would also like to apologise to the residents of Waikanae, who so kindly elected me, that I feel unable to continue in the role as an elected member and assure them that I will continue to be active in the community — but in roles more fitting with my skills.”
Jill has also stepped down from her role as Deputy Chair of the Board with immediate effect and Margaret Stevenson-Wright will be acting Deputy Chair until the next Community Board meeting on 29 September when the role will be formally appointed.
It is unfortunate that the Community Board has lost two of its best members. Having seen various emails in the Tomasina Woolfe all satire in Kapiti rated as fact not fiction flap, I saw the efforts Jill went to have commonsense prevail.
Unfortunately the hate-Churchman brigade – I daren’t say women – that is sexist – would not be brought to see sense. So the nonsexual group of Sophie Handford, Prvanov, Elliott, Buswell and Hoborrow succeeded in illegally passing a motion decrying a non-member of the Community Board. It appears that over 25 hours were spent by this group rallying support to express their outrage at a non event while being handsomely being paid about $48,000 each of ratepayers hard earned cash.
At the end of the day, the governments are to blame. They (both) know whats going on in councils but prefer to sit back and let malevolence reign supreme while the poor ratepayer has no say in the council operation of cost reductions.
One day a new political party will take up the challenge and sort this pack of wa%$^&ers out.